By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A Zeeland woman who has been in prison for more than two decades in connection with a fire that killed her teenage daughter will get a chance to present new evidence in court to try to clear her name.
The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a July 22 ruling, ordered an evidentiary hearing for 69-year-old Karen Boes, who is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of first-degree felony murder in the July 30, 2002 blaze that killed her 14-year-old daughter, Robin, at their home on Williams Avenue.
Boes had filed a motion in 2021 seeking a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence that questioned the validity of testimony given by prosecution experts on the origin and cause of the fire, and the validity and admissibility of statements she made to police while she was being questioned during its investigation.
As part of her motion, Boes provided a report from a proposed expert witness indicating that since her trial, a method used in her case to determine an ignitable liquid must have been present at the fire scene, despite a lack of physical evidence, was no longer recommended in investigating fires. She also said that one of the key prosecution witnesses was later discredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences for unethical behavior while testifying as an expert witness in another case.
However, Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema in 2023 denied Boes’ request, ruling that the new evidence would not likely have changed the verdict in the case. Boes then took her case to the Court of Appeals, saying the court abused its discretion. The appellate court ruled that Miedema should have allowed the evidentiary hearing to take place.
“We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by denying defendant’s successive motion for relief from judgment without holding an evidentiary hearing … Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order and remand for an evidentiary hearing,” Appeals Court Judges Mark Boonstra and Philip Mariani wrote in their ruling.
A scheduling conference has been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. before Judge Miedema. Boes asked to have a different judge preside over her evidentiary hearing, but the appeals justices did not go along with that request.
“Although we conclude that the trial judge erred by deciding this matter without holding an evidentiary hearing, we conclude that defendant has not demonstrated either actual bias or a risk of the appearance of impropriety,” the justices ruled.
Boes is being held at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Zeeland Record
A Zeeland woman who has been in prison for more than two decades in connection with a fire that killed her teenage daughter will get a chance to present new evidence in court to try to clear her name.
The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a July 22 ruling, ordered an evidentiary hearing for 69-year-old Karen Boes, who is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of first-degree felony murder in the July 30, 2002 blaze that killed her 14-year-old daughter, Robin, at their home on Williams Avenue.
Boes had filed a motion in 2021 seeking a new trial based on newly-discovered evidence that questioned the validity of testimony given by prosecution experts on the origin and cause of the fire, and the validity and admissibility of statements she made to police while she was being questioned during its investigation.
As part of her motion, Boes provided a report from a proposed expert witness indicating that since her trial, a method used in her case to determine an ignitable liquid must have been present at the fire scene, despite a lack of physical evidence, was no longer recommended in investigating fires. She also said that one of the key prosecution witnesses was later discredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences for unethical behavior while testifying as an expert witness in another case.
However, Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema in 2023 denied Boes’ request, ruling that the new evidence would not likely have changed the verdict in the case. Boes then took her case to the Court of Appeals, saying the court abused its discretion. The appellate court ruled that Miedema should have allowed the evidentiary hearing to take place.
“We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by denying defendant’s successive motion for relief from judgment without holding an evidentiary hearing … Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order and remand for an evidentiary hearing,” Appeals Court Judges Mark Boonstra and Philip Mariani wrote in their ruling.
A scheduling conference has been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. before Judge Miedema. Boes asked to have a different judge preside over her evidentiary hearing, but the appeals justices did not go along with that request.
“Although we conclude that the trial judge erred by deciding this matter without holding an evidentiary hearing, we conclude that defendant has not demonstrated either actual bias or a risk of the appearance of impropriety,” the justices ruled.
Boes is being held at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
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